Senate panel rejects public hanging of child abusers

After failing to muster support of the provinces and the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), a parliamentary panel has dropped the proposal of public hanging of criminals found guilty of abducting and abusing children.

Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice was reviewing on Thursday the amendment bill, moved by Rehman Malik after the abduction, rape and brutal murder of a child in Kasur in January. Senator Javed Abbasi chaired the moot which was the last to be held during the current setup of the Senate.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Law and Justice also opposed the proposal of public hanging stating that rules were already there for such steps. The prison chiefs of all provinces and the CII have already opposed the proposal.

Senior Adviser in Law Ministry Malik Hakam Ali Khan said the existing rules already carried the provision of death by hanging publicly in view of rule 354 of the prison rules. “Hence an amendment in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) will not be required for the same,” he said.
He said it was the domain of the prison departments to see how a public hanging was to be carried out. Senator Murtaza Wahab said, ‘While severity of punishment is needed, it is the certainty of punishment that fulfills the needs for justice’. Later Abbasi asked the senators for their final vote and everybody agreed to oppose the bill.